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Calgary Herald
17-07-2025
- Business
- Calgary Herald
Alberta AG reports cite child care overpayments, estimated millions in ineligible pandemic payments
Alberta auditor general Doug Wylie speaks at a 2019 news conference. Photo by Larry Wong / Postmedia, file Alberta's auditor general has found that parents may have overpaid for child care due to a lack of oversight of the province's subsidy program, and that a pandemic assistance program for small businesses may have distributed as much as $158 million to ineligible applicants. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Calgary Herald ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Calgary Herald ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Auditor general Doug Wylie separately released on Thursday a performance audit of the Child Care Subsidy and Grants Program, and an assessment of how the province had implemented its Small and Medium Enterprise Relaunch Grant Program. The child care audit reported on how $1.1 billion in public funding was managed within the program during 2023-2024. Your weekday lunchtime roundup of curated links, news highlights, analysis and features. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again The audit found that the department didn't consistently ensure claims from operators were supported or that funding from subsidies and grants were used to reduce fees for parents and pay educators. 'There is a risk of overpayment by the department and a risk that parents are overpaying for child care and educators are being undercompensated,' Wylie stated in a news release. 'Albertans should have confidence that these funds are achieving the program's purpose — to reduce child care costs for families and support educators.' Fourteen of 25 operators sampled in a single month had at least one discrepancy, and three had more significant issues, including one instance where an overstated claim led to an overpayment by the department of more than $26,000 for that month. Wylie also noted the program had been administered by three different ministries in as many years, leading to 'significant delays' in completing his report. The office of Education and Childcare Minister Demetrios Nicolaides responded to the report in a statement accepting Wylie's recommendations and citing 'extensive changes' made since the audit review period. 'I will be working with my department officials to implement a more streamlined and accountable claims system, among other tools to make sure our monitoring and performance measurement are based on accurate information,' it states. In a statement, Opposition children and family services critic Diana Batten accused the government of short-changing parents and also noted the province's April cancellation of its income-tested subsidy that some parents say has sent child care costs skyrocketing.
Calgary Herald
17-07-2025
- Business
- Calgary Herald
Alberta AG reports cite child care overpayments, millions in ineligible pandemic payments
Article content Alberta's auditor general has found that parents may have overpaid for child care due to a lack of provincial oversight of its subsidy program, and, that a pandemic assistance program for small businesses may have distributed more than $155 million to ineligible applicants. Article content Auditor General Doug Wylie separately released on Thursday a performance audit of the Child Care Subsidy and Grants Program, and an assessment of how the province had implemented its Small and Medium Enterprise Relaunch Grant Program. Article content Article content Article content The child care audit reported on how $1.1 billion in public funding was managed within the program during 2023-2024. Article content Article content The audit found that the department didn't consistently ensure claims from operators were supported or that funding from subsidies and grants were used to reduce parents fees and pay educators. Article content 'There is a risk of overpayment by the department and a risk that parents are overpaying for child care and educators are being under compensated,' Wylie stated in a news release. Article content 'Albertans should have confidence that these funds are achieving the program's purpose — to reduce child care costs for families and support educators.' Article content Fourteen of 25 operators sampled in a single month had at least one discrepancy, and three had more significant issues including one instance where an overstated claim led to an overpayment by the department of more than $26,000 for that month. Article content Article content Wylie also noted the program had been administered by three different ministries in as many years, leading to 'significant delays' in completing his report. Article content Postmedia has sought comment from the office of Education and Childcare Minister Demetrios Nicolaides. Article content In a statement, Opposition children and family services critic Diana Batten accused the government of short-changing parents and also noted the province's April cancellation of its income-tested subsidy that some parents say has sent child care costs skyrocketing. Article content 'Smith and her uncaring government have delivered a double hit to parents struggling to afford child care, making it even more expensive. It's a failure to live up to their responsibility, improper management of public funds, and it's just cruel.'
Edmonton Journal
17-07-2025
- Business
- Edmonton Journal
Alberta AG reports cite child care overpayments, millions in ineligible pandemic payments
Article content Alberta's auditor general has found that parents may have overpaid for child care due to a lack of provincial oversight of its subsidy program, and, that a pandemic assistance program for small businesses may have distributed more than $155 million to ineligible applicants. Article content Auditor General Doug Wylie separately released on Thursday a performance audit of the Child Care Subsidy and Grants Program, and an assessment of how the province had implemented its Small and Medium Enterprise Relaunch Grant Program. Article content Article content Article content The child care audit reported on how $1.1 billion in public funding was managed within the program during 2023-2024. Article content Article content 'There is a risk of overpayment by the department and a risk that parents are overpaying for child care and educators are being under compensated,' Wylie stated in a news release. 'Albertans should have confidence that these funds are achieving the program's purpose — to reduce child care costs for families and support educators.' Article content Fourteen of 25 operators sampled in a single month had at least one discrepancy, and three had more significant issues including one instance where an overstated claim led to an overpayment by the department of more than $26,000 for that month. Article content Article content Wylie also noted the program had been administered by three different ministries in as many years, leading to 'significant delays' in completing his report. Article content Postmedia has sought comment from the office of Education and Childcare Minister Demetrios Nicolaides. Article content In a statement, Opposition children and family services critic Diana Batten accused the government of short-changing parents and also noted the province's April cancellation of its income-tested subsidy that some parents say has sent child care costs skyrocketing. Article content 'Smith and her uncaring government have delivered a double hit to parents struggling to afford child care, making it even more expensive. It's a failure to live up to their responsibility, improper management of public funds, and it's just cruel.'
